The Magnificent
by ForTheLoveOfPeter
Summary: What if the White Witch knew that the deep magic would not work unless Edmund was sacrificed on the Stone Table? What if, instead, Peter offers a trade - his own obedience to do whatever she says. In return, Edmund is free and the war is stopped. What can Edmund, Susan and Lucy do to rescue their brother from the hands of their worst enemy? Or will Peter suffer the consequences?


**Hello there, fellow Narnia fans. I have been wanting to write with these beloved characters for a long time now, but never mustered up the confidence to try my hand at it. Finally, I have decided that this story did not want to remain in my head and simply had to be written.**

 **Here, we enter a Narnia where the White Witch knows the magic in which the Stone Table was forged and that if anyone were to take Edmund's place, the magic would not work. Then, we enter the what if she knew scenario and, of course, Peter has to be his usual protective and overly-selfless self and offer himself up instead. Oh Peter, what have you got yourself into?**

 **I really hope you like the idea and that this is worth being continued. Let me know what you think.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from The Chronicles of Narnia. They are the property of CS Lewis, Disney and Walden Media. I am simply taking them on another journey.**

* * *

 _"There is but one task for all -  
One life for each to give.  
What stands if Freedom fall?"_

* * *

"The Queen! The Queen of Narnia! Empress of the Lone Island!"

The horrid commotion arose as Ginarrbrik, the White Witch's right-hand dwarf, announced their arrival. The Witch herself was carried on a wooden throne by four cyclopes and she was flanked by several minotaurs.

The whole of Aslan's camp stood bewildered, watching warily as their enemy so willingly entered their camp. There was shouting and hollers of confusion as the group continued down the central pathway towards Aslan's tent. Peter and Edmund, followed closely by their sisters, ran up to the edge of the crowd so they could see for themselves. No one was sure what to do and Edmund gasped as she grew closer. Lucy glanced back at him to make sure that he was alright, noticing he had already paled several shades lighter.

Aslan too had noticed, and he stood steady at the top of the field in front of his tent. His eyes never left the Witch as she approached, and she also held his stare. As she was lowered to the ground, however, her head turned and she caught Edmund's gaze, her cold eyes boring through him like the ice her castle was created from. He knew right then and there that she had the sole intention of coming for what was hers.

"You have a traitor in your midst, Aslan," she spoke. Though she was looking straight at the lion, it was clear who she was directing it to. Several Narnians didn't like the notion of what she was implying, the murmurs in the crowd growing louder.

"His offence was not against you," Aslan reasoned, his tone never changing.

"Have you forgotten the laws upon which Narnia was built?" she asked swiftly.

Aslan tempered slightly at being patronised and growled out "do not cite the deep magic to _me_ , Witch, I was there when it was written." The look in his eyes was enough to make any grown man cry.

But the White Witch was neither man nor had the morality on which to be frightened. "Then you'll remember well that every traitor belongs to me." Peter scowled in recognition of where this was going. "His blood is my property."

In a flash, Edmund heard the slink of a sword being pulled from its sheath, and he realised that his brother had been the one to point it at her. In response, the minotaur behind the Witch raised his axe. "Try and take him then," Peter blazoned.

"Do you really think that mere force will deny me my right, _little king_." Peter stepped back, a troubled expression crossing his countenance. "Aslan knows that unless I have blood as the law demands, all of Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water. That boy will die on the stone table as is tradition." Cries erupted from the Narnians. "You dare not refuse me."

"You have already tortured my brother, you shall not have him again," Peter spoke up again. Edmund could not deny the look of pure determination on his older brother's face, but that look always meant he was about to do something the others wouldn't like. "Take my blood instead."

"What?" Edmund gasped, not expecting anything like that at all.

"Peter, no!" Susan tried to tug on his arm and pull him back in line, but the boy refused and stayed where he was.

"You would take the place of your brother even though he has betrayed you all?" the Witch's interest was clearly piqued and a glimmer of sorts traced through her eyes before it was gone all together.

"Enough!" Aslan bellowed, clearly not liking the turn this had taken, "I will talk with the two of you…alone."

He turned back to his tent, not waiting as he knew the others would come with him. The White Witch immediately made to follow. Edmund gave his brother a pleading look, but the blonde simply sighed and made his way to where he had been summoned. The drapes closed and all they could do was wait.

* * *

"Son of Adam," Aslan addressed once he was in the tent, "you need not step in for your brother."

"But there is no other way," Peter replied, "I won't let her get to Edmund and this is one way I am assured she will not."

"Such selflessness," the Witch chuckled, "and all to save a traitor."

"You are far worse than Edmund could ever be. He made a mistake, whereas this war of yours is definitely no accident." Peter glowered, making the Witch rise from where she was seated.

" _I_ shall be taking his place, Peter, you are needed here to lead Narnia.," Peter's eyes widened at the lion, realising Aslan had been prepared to do this all along. "She can take me to the Stone Table and complete her deed. It shall mean little in the face of the battle to come, one which I'll assure you are prepared for."

"Oh, don't let me ruin this rather honourable moment, but I do believe you underestimate my knowledge," the White Witch smirked at the lion, relinquishing in the fact that she wasn't as easily manipulated as first thought. "If I do not have the traitor on the Stone Table then the magic will not work and he shall be walking again within twelve hours. That is not a fair trade off, is it now?" she winked at Peter.

"I can't trade my blood for Edmund's?" the boy asked, looking to Aslan to confirm the words. The lion looked apologetic as he shook his head. Peter simply could not let his brother fall into the White Witch's hands again, not after they had only just put aside their differences and started anew. Anyone that knew Peter would know just how far he would go to protect his siblings, always putting them first before himself and, often, forfeiting his needs for theirs.

It was a fleeting thought at first, but one that became stronger the more he lingered upon it. It would take a lot, and he knew that when his siblings found out they would be infuriated, shocked and extremely upset, but he was the eldest, and being the eldest came with responsibilities and sacrifice that they would never be able to understand. If the Witch wouldn't take his blood, then he'd give her the next best thing.

"Have me then, not my blood, but my very being. I will go willingly and do as you wish, so long as you release your hold over my brother."

"Peter…" the boy approached Aslan and wrapped his arms around his broad mane when he spoke.

"Please, Aslan, I will not be swayed. I have made up my mind and know what I am doing. I know it will not be easy, but I trust you know what it means to be the leader of a family and the responsibilities you're held up to." Peter's eyes were stormy, but determined and strong in a way Aslan did not realise he could be. He knew that even if he forbade it, the boy would still find a way to get to the Witch before he could stop him.

"It does not please me at all…but know that I will be with you even when you cannot see me," Aslan reassured, and he nuzzled against the teenager's heart to further let his message sink in. Peter hugged Aslan as long as he could, before taking a deep breath and facing the Witch behind them who had, surprisingly, remained quiet.

"You'll come unresisting, knowing what treatment you will be subjected to under my name? You would give up everything you have here for a life of difficulty and pain?" There was a strange look on her face, one that they had never seen before, and to Peter and Aslan, she almost looked impressed. Never before had she seen someone so young so bravely hand themselves over. Peter, unknowingly, had just earnt himself a slither of respect.

"There must be conditions, though," Peter warned, "you will not hurt any of my siblings or the Narnians, your claim against Edmund is void…and you will call off this war and remain in your half of Narnia, so long as Aslan keeps my family and the Narnians from trying to rescue me," he turned to the lion, "I trust you will."

Aslan nodded as the Witch contemplated the offer. "Your conditions are thought out well, the talent of a true leader," she praised sarcastically, "I will adhere to these conditions so long as you do not escape as you have promised and you follow my word. We appear to have a deal."

* * *

Edmund picked at the grass in front of him, scattering the green blades in various piles and not really paying attention to anything but his own thoughts and the drapes of Aslan's tent. He couldn't believe Peter had thought to take his place. He was the one who had got into this mess. His brother didn't need to take the fall for him and he would try his best to make sure he didn't. If the Witch wanted his blood, then she could take it. Peter did too much for them already and he hadn't shown much gratitude to him as of late.

The war had made things ten times harder on the Pevensies. Money was harder to find, food was less plentiful and, worst of all, their father had been sent out into the Air Force barely three months into the conflict. Edmund remembered wrapping himself around his father's leg as he prepared to join the convoy of army vehicles outside their door. He remembered begging and pleading, not quite understanding what serving their country meant and why their father had to be one of the men to go.

He also remembered that it was Peter who had gently pulled him off so that their father could leave for duty, it was Peter who had held him to his chest when he sobbed brokenly and it was Peter who had sat with him that night and many other nights, when the nightmares would lurk in the shadows of his mind.

All that time, Edmund had since realised when he came to Narnia, and most prominently during his time with the White Witch, his brother had also been trying to come to terms with the absence of their father. Suddenly, Peter had become the man of the house. His mother relied on him to look after his siblings and, when she needed it, he would support and comfort her, something a young boy should never have had to do. His time was always spent trying to cheer them all up. He wiped Lucy's tears when she grazed her knees, he encouraged Susan to have confidence in herself when she holed up in her room when the kids would tease her genius. He was there for Edmund every time he opened a letter from their father, as well as when those letters eventually stopped arriving. Never once did Edmund witness his brother upset or emotional over what he had lost too.

A flapping caught his attention. The White Witch emerged from the tent, followed by Peter and then Aslan. The Witch caught Edmund's eye once again as she made her way back to her throne, but turned her head away a second later. Peter remained next to Aslan, looking decidedly purposeful and calm with what had been talked about away from the crowd. Aslan did not look as comfortable as his head turned to the children and his ears dropped back.

"She has renounced her claim on the Son of Adam's blood," he declared. There was a chorus of thrilled cheers and celebrations and Edmund was embraced by his sisters. From across the way, Peter was also smiling broadly. "However, it did not come gratuitously."

The crowd's cheers drew into concerned mumbles and Edmund's chest grew tight. He heard Lucy audibly gulp beside him, her small fingers gripping onto his sleeve. Susan had a look of shock in her eyes and she was shaking her head at their older brother who was looking back at them in apology. Edmund's breath caught in his throat as he came to terms with what this could mean.

"I have taken his place," Peter declared. Immediately, Lucy cried out and latched on to Edmund more fiercely. He felt his knees growing weak and tears coming to his eyes. The girls' tears were already falling down their freckled faces.

Fauns around them stomped their hooves and the centaurs kicked out in displeasure. Big cats growled and the griffins made a sound so terribly broken that it sounded as if they had been shot out of the sky. This was not the solution they had wanted.

"But it is not my death she will take," Peter quickly reassured and they all felt their hearts start to beat again. "She will have me willingly and unresistingly taken into her power. I have agreed this on the basis that she will renounce the claim on my brother and not bring any harm to anyone. Also…to stop the war if no one here is to rescue me. Aslan tried to talk me out of it, but I am resolute. Please bring no blame onto him or my brother. This has been my proposition and my decision only."

Though they did not like it, the Narnians quietened down, each with expressions of sorrow and grief, but there was an air of admiration for the young would-be-king that was hard to ignore. Edmund let his tears spill over his eyelids. Why did his brother have to be so unwaveringly selfless?

"How do I know your promise will be kept?" The White Witch exclaimed.

She was silenced by a terrific roar from Aslan, so powerful that she dropped back down to her throne in astonishment and acquiescence. Of course, the Narnians liked this a lot, and they showed it loudly.

"You have five minutes to bid your farewells, little king," she addressed to Peter as she readied her followers to leave.

Peter sighed and hugged Aslan once more before heading over to his family. Lucy all but lunged at her brother, burying her head in his stomach, weeping with all she had. Peter, ever the elder brother and role model, edged her back slightly and stooped down to her level. Now eye-to-eye with his youngest sibling, he smiled softly at her.

"Don't cry so, Lucy, I'm not going so far away. It'll be alright."

"But you're leaving us. She won't be kind to you, Peter, and I don't want you to be hurt!" she cried, hiccups interrupting her words.

"I'm stronger than you make me out to be, Lu, and even if I am hurt, I'll always have you three to help me get by. Even if you are not there in person, you give me the strength I need and the faith to hold on for the day we will be reunited." She nodded bravely at his words, her tears slowing a little. "You are so truly brave and giving, let your generosity continue to grow and expand. Keep cheering up those who are sad and try not to be sad yourself. Don't grow up too soon, either, you are my youngest sibling, after all. I love you, Lu," he said. He hugged her to him, kissing her head several times, before passing her off to Mrs Beaver who was standing off to the left.

He moved on to Susan next. None of them had really ever seen her cry as much as she was now, not even when Father had gone away at the start of the war, and that was saying something. She held on to his shoulders, straightening the fabric of his tunic to rid of any dirt that had settled in the wrinkles there, before grabbing it up in her fingers anyway and ruining her work.

"You always try to protect us, you fool, and now look what's happened. I am happy for what you have done for Edmund, but what can be done for you? I wish there was a way to reverse certain events. I would never take back coming to Narnia, but I would so love for everyone to be out of danger," she told him quietly. Her brother smiled understandingly, smoothing back some of her loose curls.

"And where is the logic in that then?" he answered, not unkindly. "You are a marvellous young woman, Sue, and I know that I can trust in you to make sure everything is kept well here. I did what I had to, there is no stopping what has been decided. Do not lose this new-found imagination, this hope in the world. Do not cower back into the books and dark rooms. You are so much more when you are open and free, Susan. I love you, Sue."

She sniffled and kissed his forehead, stepping to the side and taking a calmer Lucy from Mrs Beaver. Edmund's throat closed up when Peter turned to him, not ready to say goodbye after witnessing those of his sisters. What could he possibly say to him? That he had ruined his chance of freedom? That this was because of his earlier actions and he should be feeling all the guilt in the world?

"I know what you're thinking, so _stop_ ," Peter's voice commented, the boy now in front of him even though Edmund had not noticed his coming closer. "You always take things to heart, Edmund, and you place so much blame onto yourself."

"But, Peter," the younger exclaimed, "if it weren't for me, you wouldn't be in this situation, you wouldn't have to face her and her army. Goodness knows what waits for you back at her castle. I only endured a few days and I would never wish to go back. I wouldn't hold it over you if you hated me."

Peter's strong arms pulled him forwards and into his brother's chest. The familiar scent and warmth were so achingly comforting that he couldn't hold back a sob. "Don't you ever think I could ever hate you, Ed. Never, not even if you killed me in cold blood, would I hate you. Not that you would do that anyway. You have heart, Ed. You were manipulated and that is not your fault. You saw the error of your ways and I know you have learnt so much. Don't hold this over yourself. I am proud of who you are and that you are my little brother, the best little brother I have."

Edmund chuckled hoarsely into his brother's tunic. "I'm your only brother."

He could feel Peter's grin by the way his chest rose and his head moved. "That may be, but the fact still stands. Love yourself, Edmund, like I love you and like everyone else does as well. And, please, promise me you won't come looking for me."

Edmund glanced up into the blonde's own watery eyes and he realised in that moment that this was a promise that could possibly mean they wouldn't see Peter ever again. He would love to say no, but he knew he couldn't. Too much would be risked. He also knew Peter was aware of how he felt about the promise, but he trusted him enough to keep it and that restored Edmund's faith in himself, little by little.

"I promise, Peter," he spoke brokenly, but his chest puffed out and he nodded determinedly. Peter wiped the last of the tears from his brother's eyes.

"This won't be the last time I see you again. There will be a day when this is overturned." His brother leant in and whispered so that only Edmund could hear. "All I know since our arrival to Narnia is that magic works in wonderful ways. If evil were made to rule and conquer, then magic wouldn't exist. Work with Aslan, with the Narnians, and I have hope that there will be a way to change the tide. I love you, little brother."

Peter took a deep breath, patting Edmund on the back before turning and making his way over to the White Witch. She had been watching discretely, interested in the eldest's faith in his family, in Narnia, something that she hadn't imagined he possessed with only being there for so little time. Still, the deal had been made and she relished in having Peter with her. Even if she had to hold back with her army, she could still have her fun.

Nodding to the minotaur beside her, the cyclopes lifted her throne into the air once again. The minotaur grabbed Peter by the shoulder, his grip firm even though everyone knew Peter wouldn't have the idiocy to try and escape. With a harsh shove, Peter was forced to follow after the Witch, glancing back at his family for the last time as he was led back down the path and towards the Witch's territory.

Every Narnian he passed stooped low, their heads parallel with the floor and helmets off in front of them. The fauns were on one knee, the centaurs leaning forward with one hoofed leg outstretched and red dwarves on both knees. All bowing, showing one last act of reverence towards Peter. The blonde felt a deep warmth blossom inside his chest and it remained there even after they were out of the field and on the way to the ice castle.

What he was faced with next, he did not know, but he would endure with all his strength. No matter what the Witch threw his way, he would be alright because Narnia believed in him and he believed in Narnia. With that thought, Peter walked onwards and in to the White Witch's castle.


End file.
